Opinions on XIAOMI REDMI 6A? (specs inside)

Dimitri

Member
Specs: https://www.mi.com/global/redmi-6a/specs/

I currently have a Samsung Galaxy S3 and it often takes it 10 sec or more to open an application and it takes it long to navigate between things sometimes.

I was recommended this phone (I'm looking for a dirt cheap option), but looking at the specs, it seems to me the only aspect in which this beats S3 is that it's quad core rather than dual core.

My concern is that if I buy this maybe it will perform well now, but that in a few years it will perform like the S3 does now.

Can I buy this thing and be sure that in the next few years it won't start taking it 10 seconds to open an app?
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
Smartphones, even flagships, typically don't last more than 2-3 years. That'll be a giant step up sure but it's impossible to say how long it will last you.
 

_Kyle_

Well-Known Member
Pretty much all smartphones nowadays are intentionally setup to fail or become unbearably slow after a certain amount of time.
 

OmniDyne

Active Member
Can I buy this thing and be sure that in the next few years it won't start taking it 10 seconds to open an app?

Unfortunately, no. At this point, $250 smartphones enjoy the same longevity as their more expensive counterparts.

What isn't talked about enough, in my view, is device maintenance and habits. The silliest things can slow a smartphone down, such as text messages; I've had expensive flagship phones and cheap smartphones and one thing that causes a massive performance hit is an abundance of text messages. Delete them. I've had phones slow to a crawl because message threads were super long, even if the message app wasn't open, and my newer phone still does this.

Chrome. I have to clear out browsing data at least once every two weeks or my phone slows to a crawl.

And since cell phones are transitioning to non-removable batteries, I think it's important to mention that you should keep your device on the charger as much as possible. The less you discharge a Lithium-ion battery, the longer it will last, in theory.

But the Galaxy S3 came out around 7 years ago; you got an incredible run for the money.
 

Intel_man

VIP Member
To be fair, the processor advances since the S3 has been significant. The processor advances today aren't achieving the same leaps year after year as we've seen before. Unless some drastic new breakthrough happens, you can expect the current flagships to still be pretty snappy in the next few years. A factory reset in 3 years time is probably not a bad thing to do to grab some of your performance back.

Non-removable batteries as OmniDyne said, is most likely going to be the Achilles heel. You either replace it at an authorized service center (to have a better chance of retaining the IP68 rating on phones that are rated for that) or you'll have to go through the ifixit page to look up how to replace your battery for the phone once the battery becomes unable to hold enough charge to last you the whole day.
 

Dimitri

Member
But the Galaxy S3 came out around 7 years ago; you got an incredible run for the money.

If only, I bought it second hand a year or two ago haha

Now I realize, given what you guys are saying, that maybe buying used smart phones isn't cost effective
 

AlienMenace

Well-Known Member
Unfortunately, no. At this point, $250 smartphones enjoy the same longevity as their more expensive counterparts.

What isn't talked about enough, in my view, is device maintenance and habits. The silliest things can slow a smartphone down, such as text messages; I've had expensive flagship phones and cheap smartphones and one thing that causes a massive performance hit is an abundance of text messages. Delete them. I've had phones slow to a crawl because message threads were super long, even if the messaging app wasn't open, and my newer phone still does this.

Chrome. I have to clear out browsing data at least once every two weeks or my phone slows to a crawl.

And since cell phones are transitioning to non-removable batteries, I think it's important to mention that you should keep your device on the charger as much as possible. The less you discharge a Lithium-ion battery, the longer it will last, in theory.

But the Galaxy S3 came out around 7 years ago; you got an incredible run for the money.

What most people that are not tech savvy is that Lithium batteries should not be discharged below 60%. Sometimes when you drain a Li-ion to nothing, it will get hot from charging a long time. I normally charge mine when gets down to 80%.
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
What most people that are not tech savvy is that Lithium batteries should not be discharged below 60%. Sometimes when you drain a Li-ion to nothing, it will get hot from charging a long time. I normally charge mine when gets down to 80%.
Modern batteries don't suffer from the woes of older battery tech with stuff like that. Ideally you want to keep it charged and leaving it on the charger won't hurt it at all, contrary to what some say. Draining them down low is totally fine, just degrades total amount of discharge cycles. You should down a full drain cycle at least every once in a while just to keep the percentage and battery life calibrated. If your battery is getting anything more than mildly warm it's probably on it's way out or you've got a sketchy charger. Wireless charging does make it slightly warm to the touch but not damaging by any means.
 

OmniDyne

Active Member

I'm not saying any of that is wrong, I just go by the manufacturers specs. The iPhone 5c and iPad I own state in the manual it's recommended to charge the device(s) as much as possible. The last few Samsung's I've owned state similar things. Hell, even the last Wahl clipper and trimmer I purchased states in the manual they use Li-ion batteries and charging overnight doesn't hurt.

But that's why I state 'in theory'; my family member replaced his S3 about a year ago and it wasn't an easy life for that phone haha, especially considering the battery; no F's were given at all when it came to battery maintenance and the battery had just started refusing to hold a charge.

I think deep cycles are the most detrimental, but in the end it probably doesn't really matter.
 

AlienMenace

Well-Known Member
I disagree, this iPhone xr is leagues above the $200 moto g price tier I upgraded from.

Also @AlienMenace those articles are full of crap.

Maybe, but I read a lot on the battery university, considering I was flying with Li-po's in R/C sailplanes. Some articles are crap and some are not. It depends on the person.
 
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